Do photons emitted by charged particles in a uniform loop get canceled out?

In summary, EM radiation is a form of energy that travels through space in the form of waves. It is generated by the movement of charged particles and can range from high-energy gamma rays to low-energy radio waves. There are seven main types of EM radiation, each with different wavelengths and effects on matter. EM radiation travels at the speed of light and has various uses in everyday life, including communication, cooking, medical imaging, and technology.
  • #1
Pushoam
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A clump of charged particles moving in circular motion emits em radiation.
But if I go on increasing no. of charged particles till the time the system becomes current in circular path, then since each particle is having same acceleration and velocity, the current will be uniform. So, now the system becomes uniform loop of current.

Now the electromagnetic field created by uniform loop of current doesn't change w.r.t. time, so this system won't emit em radiation.

But,

if I consider loop of current system as ,say, 5 clumps of charged particles, then each clump emits em radiation.
Since the net radiation is zero, does it mean that radiation created by clumps get canceled among themselves?
Each charged particle in the loop emits em radiation.
Radiation emitted by one particle gets canceled by radiation emitted by another particles using superposition principle. Is this correct?

But,
how to understand this thing in photon picture?
Each charged particle emits em radiation.⇒ Each charged particle emits photons.
Photons emitted by one particle doesn't get canceled by photons emitted by another particles .
Since the net radiation is zero, total no. of photons is also 0.
How to understand this?
 
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  • #2
Better get first an understanding in terms of classical physics. Photons are a complicated subject and unnecessary to understand what's going on here.

It's in fact quite simple. If you have a single point particle running in a circle, the current density obviously is
$$\rho(t,\vec{x})=Q \delta^{(3)}[\vec{x}-\vec{y}(t)],$$
where
$$\vec{y}=R \cos \omega t \vec{e}_x + R \sin \omega t \vec{e}_y$$
is the trajectory on a circle. The current density is
$$\vec{j}(t,\vec{x})=Q \dot{\vec{y}}(t) \delta^{(3)}[\vec{x}-\vec{y}(t)].$$
Obviously, it's time dependent and you get a radiation field via the retarded Lienard-Wiechert solutions.

For a homogeneous line of charge running in a circle you have [CORRECTED!]
$$\rho(t,\vec{x})=\lambda \delta(\rho-R) \delta(z),$$
where ##\lambda## is the charge per unit length and
$$\vec{j}(t,\vec{x})=\vec{v} \rho(t,\vec{x})=R \omega \lambda \vec{e}_{\varphi} \delta(\rho-R) \delta(z),$$
where ##(\rho,\varphi,z)## are the usual cylinder coordinates. Here ##\rho## and ##\vec{j}## are time-independent, so that the retarded Lienard-Wiechert solutions lead to the usual electro- and magnetostatic solutions.
 
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  • #3
vanhees71 said:
Here ρ\rho and ⃗j\vec{j} are time-independent
The loop could be accelerated ,too. So, ω will depend on time and so is current density.
 
  • #4
According to #1 the OP considers the case of a stationary current in the limit of the continuous charge distribution. So I assumed a stationary current for this case in my argument. Of course, if the current is time-dependent, you get a radiation field again.
 
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  • #5
vanhees71 said:
For a homogeneous line of charge running in a circle you have
ρ(t,⃗x)=##\frac λ Rδ(ρ−R),##​

Integrating ρ(t,⃗ x) to get total charge,
##\int_V \frac λ R \delta (r-R) r^2 sinθ dr dθ dΦ =
\int_{r=0}^ \inf \frac λ R \delta(r-R)r^2 dr \int_{θ=0}^{π}sinθ dθ\int_{Φ=0}^{2π} dΦ = 4πλ R
## instead of 2πλ R
Is this correct?
 
  • #6
First I have to correct myself (also corrected it in my original posting #2). The correct charge density is, of course,
$$\rho=\lambda \delta(\rho-R) \delta(z).$$
Further, we work in cylinder not spherical coordinates, i.e., we have
$$\mathrm{d}^3 \vec{x}=\mathrm{d} \rho \mathrm{d} \varphi \mathrm{d} z \rho$$
and thus
$$Q=\int_0^{\infty} \mathrm{d} \rho \int_0^{2 \pi} \mathrm{d} \varphi \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \mathrm{d} z \rho \lambda \delta(\rho-R) \delta(z)=2 \pi R \lambda,$$
as it must be, because ##2 \pi R## is the length of the circle and thus ##\lambda=Q/(2 \pi R)##.
 
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1. What is EM radiation?

EM radiation, also known as electromagnetic radiation, is a form of energy that travels through space in the form of waves. It is produced by the movement of electrically charged particles and can range from high-energy gamma rays to low-energy radio waves.

2. How is EM radiation generated?

EM radiation can be generated in a variety of ways, including through the acceleration of charged particles, such as electrons, or through the vibrations of atoms and molecules. Some common sources of EM radiation include the sun, light bulbs, and electronic devices.

3. What are the different types of EM radiation?

There are seven main types of EM radiation, arranged in order of increasing energy and frequency: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays. Each type has a different wavelength and can have different effects on matter.

4. What is the speed of EM radiation?

EM radiation travels at the speed of light, which is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum. This means that it takes about 8 minutes for sunlight to reach Earth, as it travels 149.6 million kilometers to get here.

5. How is EM radiation used in everyday life?

EM radiation has a wide range of uses in everyday life. Radio waves are used for communication, microwaves for cooking, infrared for remote controls and thermal imaging, visible light for vision, ultraviolet for sterilization, X-rays for medical imaging, and gamma rays for cancer treatment. It is also used in technologies such as Wi-Fi, GPS, and satellite communication.

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